Fournel, Cochrane finish off the podium in 200 kayak final

Ed Willes, Postmedia Olympic Team08.10.2012

Ryan Cochrane (R) and Hugues Fournel of team Canada show their disappointment and dejection after finishing in 7th place in the Men's Kayak Double (K2) 200m final at the Eton Dorney venue during the London 2012 Olympic Games, August 11, 2012.

ETON-DORNEY - Hugues Fournel tried to process everything that happened this week and articulate what it meant to him and his family.

He just wasn't doing a very good job of it.

"It's emotional obviously," said the Canadian kayaker, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "It's really emotional. But I've lived it with it all my life. Maybe it was bigger for everybody, but it wasn't bigger for me. It's part of me. It's who I am. Did it make a difference? Maybe it did. Maybe it didn't."

Moments later Fournel wandered away from the media at Lake Dorney to where his mother was standing. He embraced her fiercely, the big man holding the smaller woman in his arms, holding her because of everything they've been through together, and that moment, you knew all you needed to know about what this represented.

"They make me cry," said Guylaine St. Georges, who's spent the last week riding a tidal wave of emotions as she watched first, daughter Emilie, and Saturday, son Hugues, compete. "Every time they race, they make me cry. For sure. It can be anywhere. I'm just so happy to see them there."

In the end, Fournel and his partner Ryan Cochrane didn't get the medal they wanted in London. After a promising start to their race, the 200 metres, they faded over the final 50 metres and finished seventh in the mad sprint at the Eton College rowing basin.

The Canadians are a light boat. They were rowing into a headwind.

As Cochrane said: "This wasn't our day. We're going up and down with the emotions right now. Seventh is a respectable position but everyone wants to be on the podium, right?"

So on that basis, their day wasn't a success, just as Emilie failing to make the final in her two events wasn't a success, either. I mean, isn't that how we measure things at the Olympics? Medal and you're a national hero. Anything else and you're lucky to make the agate.

Except there' so much more to this story, so much about the power of family and sports. The Olympic stewards would have us believe these stories are at the heart of their movement and sometimes it's hard to believe them.

But believe in this one.

In 1976, Hugues's father Jean competed for Canada in the kayak at the Montreal Olympics. Ten years later, Emilie was born and wo years later Hugues came into the world.

But Jean Fournel would never see his children race. He died at 40, a victim of leukemia when Emilie was 10 and Hugues was eight.

After his death, Guylaine became a fulltime kayak mom. She'd rowed for Canada at the Pan-Am Games and helped found the Pte. Claire paddling club with her late husband.

Emilie, meanwhile, started making national teams as a teenager and, in the runup to 2008, Guylaine watched her daughter qualify for Beijing on the Olympic rowing basin in Montreal where Jean Fournel had competed more than 30 years before.

Hugues was there also and he dedicated himself to the kayak soon thereafter. He just turned 24. His partner in the boat, Cochrane, is 29. Both stated emphatically they'll be back for 2016.

"We love each other like brothers," said Cochrane. "We'll be back together, for sure."

And that's good because there's always room for another paddler in the Fournel family.

"It's a nice feeling," said St. Georges, the mother. "I'm just so happy. Every day for one week I was here to watch my child racing. What can be better than that?"